Precious

Director Lee Daniels (with help from executive producers Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry) brought his film version of the novel Push (written by Sapphire) to the Sundance Film Festival in 2009 and went home with the Grand Jury Prize. The tale of a down-and-out Harlem teenager's mission to rise above a seemingly endless barrage of physical and emotional carnage, went on to become the audience favorite at nearly every other film festival that year, and the accompanying soundtrack, lovingly produced by Daniels and Mary J. Blige dutifully echoes Claireece "Precious" Jones' journey to discover her own self-worth. Built around Blige's mesmerizing I See in Color (a true return to her deep soul roots), Precious features solid offerings from both contemporary (Queen Latifah, Grace Hightower) and classic (Mahalia Jackson, Labelle) R&B artists, resulting in a solid and empowering collection that (in the words of Daniels) "resonate not only in Precious' world, but speak to your soul no matter who you are." ~ James Christopher Monger